1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a mechanism for controlling the travel of a structural member to be suitably used for a drawer.
2. Background Art
A known conventional drawer cabinet comprises a cabinet frame having one or more compartments, a pair of fixed rails arranged in each compartment, a pair of sliding rails for slidingly traveling on a corresponding pair of fixed rails and a drawer arranged on each pair of sliding rails as well as a pair of coil springs arranged for each pair of fixed rails to impart a force to the corresponding pair of sliding rails to regain their original position and a lock means for locking a corresponding drawer against the resilient force of the corresponding coil springs in such a manner that the drawer may be automatically returned to the compartment by means of said springs once the lock means is released. (See Japanese Utility Design Disclosures Jikkai Shou No. 64-43743 and No. 64-43744.)
With a known drawer cabinet having a configuration as described above, an end of each spring is securely fitted to the cabinet frame by winding it around a hook arranged on the cabinet frame and the other end is fitted to a corresponding drawer so that the spring may be resiliently expanded as the drawer is pulled away from the compartment.
With such an arrangement, the drawer cannot be completely removed from the cabinet frame, making any hauling movement of a loaded and stuffed cabinet a very cumbersome operation. Moreover, the operation of assembling the cabinet requires time and labor as the fixed and sliding rails need to be fitted to the compartment and drawer respectively with the springs bound to the fixed and sliding rails.
In view of these and other problems of existing drawer cabinets, it is therefore the object of the present invention to solve these problems by providing a mechanism for controlling the travel of a movable member of a drawer cabinet that allows the movable member to freely travel within a predetermined range of movement relative to a matching fixed member by means of a clutch and, whenever necessary, to be completely separated from the fixed member and readily put back to its proper position.